Department of Microbiology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Clin Chem Lab Med. 2012 Oct 1;50(10):1723-31. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2012-0124.
Cancers of the respiratory tract (lung and head and neck) share common aetiologies, risk factors and molecular characteristics. Epigenetic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer and DNA methylation is currently the best-studied form. There are a number of characteristics of DNA methylation, which seem advantageous in biomarker development. Early detection is still an unmet clinical care need, which guarantees to significantly reduce the mortality of patients with respiratory cancers. The application of such biomarkers in biological fluids being sampled in everyday clinical practice is a long-term demand. In this review we summarise the current literature on DNA methylation detection in bronchial washings, sputum, saliva, plasma and serum and discuss the potential of their clinical implementation. We also discuss important aspects of biomarker development and validation pointing to the appropriate route for a biomarker to reach clinical standards.
呼吸道癌症（肺部和头颈部）具有共同的病因、风险因素和分子特征。表观遗传重编程是癌症的标志之一，而 DNA 甲基化是目前研究最多的形式。DNA 甲基化具有许多特征，在生物标志物开发中似乎具有优势。早期检测仍然是未满足的临床护理需求，这将显著降低呼吸癌患者的死亡率。在日常临床实践中，从生物液体中采样来应用这些生物标志物是一个长期需求。在这篇综述中，我们总结了支气管灌洗液、痰液、唾液、血浆和血清中 DNA 甲基化检测的最新文献，并讨论了其临床应用的潜力。我们还讨论了生物标志物开发和验证的重要方面，指出了生物标志物达到临床标准的适当途径。
